OP: is this a groin hernia or belly?

I've had an inguinal (groin) hernia repaired. I was about 25 at the time. I was playing hoops withing a few weeks. Mine didn't really cause me much pain, generally.

At the time I did mine, there was an Oregon surgeon.... I want to say Flannagan... who was advocating doing it under local anesthesia. His reasons were a) that he could do a much better repair with the patient still having normal muscle tension and b) general anesthesia is very hard on the body (and risky). So, I did it that way. Being awake while someone cuts through your abdominal wall is a trip. Thank god for Valium and morphine drips!

We moved out to the country not long after and I've done a ridiculous amount of hard physical work in the ensuing decades, including lots of very heavy lifting. I have torn the mesh loose from the muscle a couple times- I think- but the repair held and healed back up again. Cycling doesn't bother it at all; never even think of it. What does set it off and get it aching a bit? Sneezing! Who knew?!

BUT, Mr. OP, I think this is of minimal relevance to you, at least the surgical experiences, because I'm pretty damn sure they fix them orthoscopically, through the belly button, now. And that sure strikes me as a $3-5k procedure, not $15k.

You can't let this go, OP. It's affecting your life big time. It could cause an intestinal hang up and then you are likely undergoing an emergency procedure that's likely much more invasive.

And whoever said health care in Canada is "free" needs to take a "free" visit to a mental health professional. <Insert emoticon here that makes that comment less... aggro>